General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL

22 December 1992

ORIGINAL:ENGLISH

A/RES/47/168
93rd plenary meeting
22 December 1992
Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian
emergency assistance of the United Nations
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its resolution 46/182 of 19 December 1991 and the annex
thereto, in particular the section on the guiding principles, as well as those
sections concerning prevention, preparedness, stand-by capacity, consolidated
appeals, coordination, cooperation and leadership and continuum from relief to
rehabilitation and development,
Deeply concerned about the magnitude and ruinous effects of disasters
and emergency situations, which call, inter alia, for more international
cooperation to mitigate the human suffering of their victims and to expedite
the rehabilitation and reconstruction processes,
Underlining the need for an adequate, coordinated and prompt response by
the international community to disasters and emergency situations,
Noting the increasing number and complexity of disasters and
humanitarian emergencies,
Also underlining the need for availability of adequate financial
resources to ensure a prompt response by the United Nations to humanitarian
emergency situations,
Welcoming the establishment of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs
and the appointment of an Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator, as envisaged in resolution 46/182,
Emphasizing the importance of the primary role of the Emergency Relief
Coordinator, including with the support of the Inter-Agency Standing
Committee, in ensuring better preparation for, as well as rapid and coherent
response to, natural disasters and other emergencies, in particular
emergencies involving the supply of food, medicines, shelter and health care,
taking into account the need to promote, in close collaboration with concerned
agencies and international financial institutions, a smooth transition from
relief to rehabilitation, reconstruction and development,
Stressing the need for adequate protection of personnel involved in
humanitarian operations, in accordance with relevant norms and principles of
international law and within the context of General Assembly resolution 47/120
of 18 December 1992,
Encouraging the Secretary-General to continue discussions with
Governments and the organizations of the United Nations system on various
issues related to United Nations involvement in complex and dangerous
emergencies in terms of the measures set forth in paragraph 76 of his report,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;
2. Emphasizes the leadership role of the Secretary-General in
ensuring the rapid and coordinated response of the United Nations system to
humanitarian emergencies, including in mobilizing the necessary resources, and
invites all concerned operational organizations and agencies to continue to
extend their full support for the full implementation of General Assembly
resolution 46/182;
3. Invites those States in a position to do so to consider increasing
the resources of the Central Emergency Revolving Fund based on voluntary
contributions, in order to assist further the United Nations system in its
efforts to respond rapidly to humanitarian emergencies, and calls upon those
that have already pledged contributions to the Fund urgently to fulfil their
commitments;
4. Calls upon potential donors to adopt the necessary measures to
increase and expedite their contributions, including setting aside, on a
stand-by basis, financial and other resources that can be disbursed quickly to
the United Nations system in response to the consolidated appeals of the
Secretary-General;
5. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to examine all possible
ways and means to provide adequate qualified personnel and administrative
resources to the Department of Humanitarian Affairs from within existing
resources of the regular budget of the United Nations and, where appropriate,
through the secondment of national humanitarian disaster relief experts;
6. Also requests the Secretary-General, in his annual report on the
coordination of humanitarian emergency assistance, to review the effectiveness
and achievements of the new institutional arrangements of the United Nations
humanitarian assistance system, including the arrangements for the functioning
between Headquarters offices and at the field level, in accordance with
General Assembly resolution 46/182, as well as the progress made in the
implementation of that resolution and the present resolution and to make
appropriate recommendations as to how to give full effect to the provisions of
these resolutions;
7. Further requests the Secretary-General, after consultations with
Governments and United Nations organs and specialized agencies, to report on
arrangements between the United Nations and interested Governments and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that would enable the
United Nations to have more expeditious access, when necessary, to their
emergency relief capacities, including food reserves, emergency stockpiles and
personnel, as well as logistical support;
8. Requests the Secretary-General, after consultations with
Governments, to report on ways and means to improve further United Nations
capability in the areas of prevention and preparedness in relation to natural
disasters and other emergencies, in particular emergencies involving food,
medicines, shelter and health care, as provided for in General Assembly
resolution 46/182;
9. Also requests the Secretary-General to explore the possibilities,
advantages and disadvantages of the establishment of warehouses for emergency
items at the regional as well as global levels, taking into account existing
facilities, and to report thereon in his next annual report;
10. Further requests the Secretary-General to submit his annual report
on the coordination of humanitarian emergency assistance to the General
Assembly at its forty-eighth session and to present an oral report to the
Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of 1993.